[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Third major incident of train derailment reported from UP since last November even as investigations in earlier cases continue without breakthrough

In the third major incident of train derailment in Uttar Pradesh since last November’s Indore-Patna Express tragedy, at least three passengers – including a six-year-old boy – died while nine others were injured as 13 coaches of the Patna-bound 12741 Vasco Da Gama Express derailed near the Manikpur railway station in Chitrakoot district early on Friday morning.

The coaches of the Vasco Da Gama Express – travelling from Goa to Patna – derailed at 4:18 am on Friday morning, soon after the train left platform number 2 of the Manikpur Railway Station, about 250 km from Lucknow. The train derailment came less than 12 hours after a passenger train hit a vehicle near Amethi killing four and injuring as many.

As the railway top brass, from Union railway minister Piyush Goyal to railway board chief Ashwani Lohani and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, made familiar claims of ordering a probe into the Manikpur accident and ensuring safety of rail passengers, reports surfaced around Friday afternoon of the engine of Jammu-Patna Archana Express separating from the train near Saharanpur, again in Uttar Pradesh. Fortunately, no casualty was reported in the Saharanpur incident and chief railway spokesperson Anil Saxena blamed a “coupling fault” found in the engine as the reason for the detachment.

The casualty figure in the Manikpur incident was contained only because the train was moving at a very slow pace since it had just left a platform, railway officials said.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh additional director general (law and order), Anand Kumar said that prima facie a fractured railway track led to the accident involving the Vasco Da Gama Express. “Another possible reason being cited is that due to some technical problem, emergency brakes were slammed, causing the derailment,” Kumar told mediapersons while insisting that the actual reason for the derailment can only be confirmed by railway authorities.

However, the Uttar Pradesh government has already pressed the state police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) into service to probe the train accident, especially to ascertain if the derailment was the result of a possible sabotage.

Union railway minister Piyush Goyal has also ordered an inquiry into the incident while his ministry has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those with grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries in the accident.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is busy campaigning for his party’s candidates in the ongoing civic body elections of the state, has also announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the family members of those killed in the derailment while declaring compensation of Rs 50,000 for each of the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those who suffered minor 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railway board chairman Ashwani Lohani, who was already on an official tour of Uttar Pradesh has also reached the derailment site and is involved in ensuring that the rescue and relief operations are carried out without any hurdles, sources said.

News agency PTI said that the local police had ascertained the identity of two of the three passengers who died in the accident. As reported by PTI, Chitrakoot Superintendent of Police Pratap Gopendra Singh said a father-son duo – Golu (6) and his father Deepak Kumar (30) – residents of Bettiah district in Bihar had died on the spot of the incident while a third, yet unidentified passenger, died at a hospital while receiving where he was rushed for treatment.

“Of those injured, two were serious and admitted to district hospital, Chitrakoot. Seven with minor injuries are being treated at Manikpur,” Singh was quoted as having told PTI.

North Central Railway PRO Amit Malviya said the coaches which jumped off the tracks were S3 to S11 along with two general coaches and two extra coaches.

The Railways have set up a helpline no. 05322226276.

The year 2017 has witnessed a series of train derailments, mostly having occurred in Uttar Pradesh, although in most cases incidents of passenger deaths were not reported.

On August 19, the derailment of the Utkal Express near Muzaffarnagar in UP had claimed 22 lives and left over 150 injured while over 100 people were injured when the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya district on August 23. The two train tragedies had paved the exit of then Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu who Prime Minister Narendra Modi replaced with Goyal during a reshuffle of his council of ministers on September 3.

However, a mere change of guard in the railway top brass has not prevented rail derailments from continuing unabated at a time when the Prime Minister and the BJP are busy trying to showcase the proposed Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project in poll-bound Gujarat.

Under Goyal’s watch as railway minister, this is possibly the fourth derailment – the first in which passenger deaths have been reported. On September 7, the Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express had derailed near Minto Bridge in New Delhi while seven coaches of the Shaktipunj Express had derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district. No casualties were reported in either of these mishaps that happened within hours of each other. On September 14, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, one coach of the Jammu-New Delhi Rajdhani Express had derailed at the New Delhi railway station.

In November last year, the Indore-Patna Express had derailed in Pokhrayan near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, killing over 150 people.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]